The Source
by J. B. Tilton
Summary: What really happened after the Charmed Ones vanquished the Source of all Evil?
1. Default Chapter

CHARMED  
  
"The Source"  
  
by J. B. Tilton  
  
email: aramathisot.com  
  
Rating: G  
  
Disclaimer: "Charmed" and all related characters and events are the   
  
property of the WB television network, except for those characters specifically   
  
created for this story. This is a work of fan fiction and no infringement of   
  
copyright is intended.  
  
(Authors note: This story takes place between season 4 episodes "Charmed   
  
and Dangerous" and "The Three Faces of Phoebe".)  
  
What really happened after the Charmed Ones vanquished the Source of all   
  
Evil?  
  
ONE  
  
"Good morning, everyone," said Piper, breezing into the kitchen.  
  
"Someone's in a good mood this morning," said Paige, handing Piper a cup   
  
of coffee.  
  
"And why not?" Piper asked, smiling. "We vanquished the Source of all   
  
Evil almost a week ago. Leo tells us that the underworld is in an uproar with   
  
demons fighting each other for positions of leadership. No demons or warlocks   
  
or whatever have made even an appearance here in all that time. What's not to   
  
be in a good mood about?"  
  
"Hear, hear," said Phoebe, raising her cup of coffee. "I'd almost   
  
forgotten what it was like to go an entire day without some demon or other   
  
popping up trying to kill us. And here it's been almost a whole week. I never   
  
realized how much time we spend fighting demons. Cole and I have been able to   
  
spend a lot of quality time together."  
  
"So," said Piper, turning to Cole, "why the gloomy Gus? Everyone else is   
  
floating on cloud nine and you sit here with a scowl on your face like you just   
  
lost your best friend?"  
  
"Hm?" Cole questioned. "Oh, sorry about that. I guess it's just the   
  
post-high depression. You know what I mean? That sort of let down feeling   
  
after you've just accomplished something fantastic?"  
  
"I know what you mean," said Paige. "The past week has seemed almost   
  
anti-climactic. But I'm not complaining. Like Phoebe said, it's been real nice   
  
with no demons around. I'm on time for work every day, I can get my work done   
  
without having to orb out to help vanquish a demon, all in all it's been just   
  
like being a normal person."  
  
"Where's Leo?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"Up there," said Piper. "He says there's one continuous party going on up   
  
there. He's been spending some time with some of the White Lighters he doesn't   
  
get to see that often."  
  
"Good for him," said Phoebe. "It's about time he got to enjoy himself   
  
instead of running errands for us all the time. He really does work too hard."  
  
"I think I'll take a walk," said Cole. "With the Source now vanquished, I   
  
can walk around without some demonic bounty hunter popping in trying to kill me.   
  
And I recently realized that most of my life has been spent concocting one plan   
  
after another. I never just walked around and enjoyed being alive. I think I'd   
  
like to just spend some time enjoying the day for a change."  
  
"Would the bounty hunters still be after you now that the Source is gone?"   
  
asked Paige. "I'd think they'd be taking other jobs or something."  
  
"Well, you never know when one may want to bolster his reputation by   
  
taking out a traitor to the Source," said Cole. "But I'm not very worried.   
  
With the Source gone most of the demonic leadership is more worried about their   
  
new place in the underworld."  
  
"Want some company?" Phoebe asked. "It's a beautiful day out. We can go   
  
to the park or something."  
  
"No," said Cole, kissing her on the cheek. "I think I just want to walk   
  
around and see what people do on a lazy afternoon."  
  
"Okay," said Phoebe. "Only don't be gone too long. Remember we're going   
  
out to dinner tonight."  
  
"I haven't forgotten," said Cole smiling at her. "I wouldn't miss it for   
  
the world."  
  
"Are you sure he's okay?" Piper asked after Cole had left the kitchen.   
  
"He seems almost depressed."  
  
"You heard him," said Phoebe. "Just kind of a let down after a big   
  
victory. And he hasn't been human all that long. I think he's still   
  
adjusting."  
  
"Well," said Paige, "I'm off to work. I've got an adoption I'm helping   
  
with and it will be nice to bring a family together for a change instead of   
  
destroying a demon. I'm off."  
  
"Have a good day, sweetie," said Piper.  
  
Paige went up to her room to get ready for work. As she did, Cole stood   
  
on the front porch of the manor. He wasn't sure what was going on but he could   
  
feel something going on inside him. Something he wasn't completely sure what it   
  
was. Suddenly Cole flamed out and vanished from the porch. 


	2. Chapter 2

TWO  
  
"What the?" started Cole as he looked around.  
  
He was standing in a cavern. He recognized it immediately. He was in the   
  
underworld. He didn't know how he had gotten there. He didn't have any powers.   
  
Which meant someone had brought him here.  
  
"Welcome, Belthazor," said a voice behind him.  
  
He turned around to see the Seer standing several feet from him.  
  
"You," said Cole. "Why did you bring me here? I thought our business was   
  
concluded when I helped defeat the Source."  
  
"You've become a foolish human," said the Seer. "Did you really believe   
  
that would be the end of our business? Did you honestly believe the Source   
  
could be so easily vanquished?"  
  
"Easily?" Cole questioned. "It took the power of the Hollow to defeat   
  
him. I wouldn't exactly call that easy."  
  
"Of course," said the Seer. "But defeated by witches? How little you   
  
understand the true nature of the Source of all Evil."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Cole asked.  
  
"Did you not wonder why he often said his was the power of the   
  
underworld?" the Seer asked.  
  
"He controlled the underworld," said Cole. "All demons obeyed him.   
  
That's a lot of power to control."  
  
"It certainly is," said the Seer. "But it was much more than that. The   
  
ascension ceremony that brings the new Source to power is much more than a   
  
ceremony. It infuses the candidate with the very essence of demon kind. Over   
  
the centuries, that essence grows and increases within the Source. After five   
  
hundred years the Source was as close to evil incarnate as possible for a   
  
corporeal creature to be."  
  
"He was destroyed," said Cole. "I watched it. You said his power went   
  
into the void."  
  
"It did," said the Seer. "The void inside you. The void left behind when   
  
the Charmed Ones vanquished your demonic half. There it waits to be recalled so   
  
that it may once again take its place as the ruler of the underworld."  
  
"You're wrong," said Cole. "I'm human now."  
  
"Are you so blind that you think that?" said the Seer. "You are half   
  
demon. It is your nature. In you the Source will be reborn. When one has   
  
commanded the underworld as long as the Source did, they cannot truly be   
  
vanquished. They can only be reborn in another form."  
  
"In me?" Cole questioned. "No. My life is now at peace. Even if what   
  
you say is true - even if the power of the Source resides in me - I won't allow   
  
it to control me. Serving evil is a choice. It is my choice not to serve evil.   
  
And not even your power can take away my power to choose good over evil."  
  
"You are correct," said the Seer. "As a human you have free will. That   
  
is not something that all the power of the underworld can change. It is an   
  
obstacle that I cannot overcome."  
  
"So there's nothing you can do about it," said Cole. "Just send me back   
  
to Earth. You won't get me to do what you want so you can just give it up."  
  
"You are correct," said the Seer. "I cannot force you to choose evil.   
  
But as I said, that is simply an obstacle. Not the first I have had to   
  
overcome. But one, I am pleased to say, that can be easily circumvented."  
  
"What do you mean?" Cole asked.  
  
"The power of the Source resides within you," said the Seer. "If the   
  
Source is to be restored to his rightful place, I will need that power. You may   
  
recall that I once said that you and I would do great things together. This is   
  
the beginning of those things. Unfortunately, it is the only portion that you   
  
will actually be participating in. But the most important, I can assure you."  
  
Suddenly a demon walked up and stood next to the Seer. It stood as tall   
  
as Cole but was a milky-white color. Its face was only reminiscent of a human   
  
face. There were eyes and a mouth but instead of a nose there were only two   
  
small slits. Cole recognized the demon. It was a Changling: a demon that was   
  
capable of altering its form to whatever it chose.  
  
"Now, Belthazor," said the Seer, "it is time you returned what has been   
  
entrusted to you."  
  
The Seer raised her hands and beams of energy shot from her fingertips.   
  
The beams struck Cole in the chest and he could only stand as he felt the power   
  
of the Source being drawn out of him. 


	3. Chapter 3

THREE  
  
It took only a few moments for the Seer to draw out the power from Cole.   
  
When the power was completely out of him, he collapsed on the floor of the   
  
cavern. He felt drained. And the uneasiness he had been experiencing since the   
  
Source had been vanquished was now gone.  
  
The magic of the Source hovered several feet from Cole. It resembled a   
  
ball of lightning that flashed different colors. It sat suspended in the air as   
  
Cole looked up at it. The Changling demon looked at the Seer.  
  
"Changling," said the Seer to the demon. "Assume the form."  
  
Cole watched as the Changling began to shudder. Its form began to change.   
  
It would only take a few seconds and whatever form the Changling had chosen   
  
would be completely undistinguishable from the original creature. When the   
  
Changling finally completed its transformation, Cole looked up at him in stunned   
  
disbelief. He was staring up at himself.  
  
"Now," said the Seer. "You will take the magic into you. The Source will   
  
find a new home. One more suited for him. Then we can begin to return him to   
  
his rightful place as ruler of the underworld."  
  
The magic ball hovered for several seconds and then began to move. It   
  
entered the Changling. For several seconds the Changling stood with its eyes   
  
closed as it adjusted to the immense power it had just absorbed. Then it opened   
  
its eyes and looked around.  
  
"What's going on?" asked the Changling.  
  
"That is the power of the Source," said the Seer. "It has supplemented   
  
your own personality with that of the last person who was its host. The   
  
personality of Cole Turner. But that is a temporary situation I assure you.   
  
Very soon the personality of the Source will sublimate the original   
  
personality."  
  
Cole couldn't believe what he was hearing. This demon was now a complete   
  
duplicate of him. And he knew enough about the power of the Source that he knew   
  
the personality transfer would also include virtually all of his memories. For   
  
all intense and purposes, the Changling was Cole Turner.  
  
"This will last only a short time," said the Seer. "Within weeks the   
  
personality of your former host will be eradicated completely. At that time,   
  
the Source will take full control of your body. He will be restored to his full   
  
glory."  
  
"This will never work," said Cole. "He may have my memories but he won't   
  
be able to imitate me. There are things I understand that no demon could   
  
understand."  
  
"Because you have a soul," said the Seer. "How little you know me,   
  
Belthazor. Did you think I would overlook that small detail? This is no   
  
ordinary Changling. Its mother mated with a mortal. The Changling is half   
  
human, just as you are. Only its human father was no ordinary human, either.   
  
It took a great deal of looking to find just the right human. A human possessed   
  
by a Sycophant."  
  
A Sycophant demon. Cole knew about them but had never actually   
  
encountered one. Sycophants usually possessed the bodies of unborn humans. It   
  
forced the human soul out and took over the body, effectively destroying the   
  
human. Sycophants were the main cause for humans that exhibited psychopathic   
  
behavior.  
  
"Once I located the human I needed," the Seer continued, "it was a simple   
  
matter to convince him to mate with a Changling. For the past several years   
  
I've been grooming the offspring for just this situation. It will replace you   
  
and no one will be the wiser. And the Source will be reborn to continue leading   
  
the underworld."  
  
"This won't work," said Cole, looking for someway to escape. "The   
  
underworld will never accept some unknown demon as their leader. There are too   
  
many leaders of the underworld looking to be the next Source."  
  
"He will be no unknown demon," said the Seer smiling. "He is Cole Turner.   
  
Former demon and destroyer of the Source of all Evil. And now the recipient of   
  
the total power of the underworld. With my backing the leadership will accept   
  
him as the new Source. No one can stand in my way. Least of all a former demon   
  
with no powers." 


	4. Chapter 4

FOUR  
  
"I won't let you do this," cried Cole. "I'll tell Phoebe and her sisters   
  
what you've done. Your Changling won't live long enough to take my place. And   
  
when they're done they'll come after you."  
  
"Not likely," the Seer said. "Do you think I would go to all this trouble   
  
just to let you spoil my plans? I have been planning this for a very long time.   
  
Nothing can go wrong. And I won't allow you to destroy what I've carefully   
  
planned for."  
  
The Changling stood watching in total confusion. Without another word the   
  
Seer suddenly formed a fireball and cast it at Cole. Within seconds Cole was   
  
completely consumed by the fireball leaving only a scorched mark where he had   
  
been standing.  
  
"What happened?" questioned the Changling.  
  
"I have assured your success," said the Seer. "It's a pity, really.   
  
Belthazor would have been the most powerful Source in history. While his   
  
demonic half may have been vanquished he still possessed the remnants of that   
  
power. He would have made a much better choice than you. Still, his will was   
  
much too strong to have allowed the Source to fully possess him."  
  
"Cole?" questioned the Changling. "I'm Cole. What's going on here?"  
  
"Nothing to be concerned with," said the Seer smiling. "Belthazor's   
  
personality is asserting itself. In a few moments you will forget you were   
  
anything other than Cole Turner. But the love you will carry for the witch will   
  
be only a pale shadow of the true love he carried. It will be quite easy for   
  
the Source to overcome it."  
  
The Seer waved her hand and the Changling suddenly shimmered and vanished   
  
from the cavern. She had returned the demon to the place from where she had   
  
taken Cole. By now, Cole's personality would have fully asserted itself   
  
completely eradicating the Changlings' true personality. And within a short   
  
time the Source would overcome that personality. It was a pale replica of the   
  
original.  
  
"It's a pity, really," said the Seer, looking at the scorch mark where Cole had once stood. "You could have been great. How little you understood the   
  
true power you possessed. If you have only allowed the Source to fully possess   
  
you it would have been an easy matter to dispose of him once you had acquired   
  
his power. The love you carried for the witch would have been something not   
  
even the Source could have fought against."  
  
The Seer turned and walked from the chamber. She knew it had been a risk   
  
to allow Cole to fight the Source for so long. But it had been necessary for   
  
the Source to fully establish his growing control over Cole before transplanting   
  
his personality into the Changling. Otherwise the Source might not have   
  
survived the transplantation.  
  
It had been many decades since she had learned the true power that humans   
  
possessed. The power of love. That was a power that almost no demon had the   
  
power to fight against. Or resist. It was a power that no true demon could   
  
truly understand because demons were incapable of love.  
  
Cole Turner had been different. He had been only half demon. His human   
  
half had allowed him to understand the power of love as no demon could.   
  
Combining his love for Phoebe with the power he would have inherited from the   
  
Source would have allowed him to truly vanquish his greatest of all foes.  
  
Now, Cole Turner had died and only she knew it. To the rest of the world,   
  
and the underworld, he would continue as she wished. His legacy would grow in   
  
the form of the Changling. To the rest of the world and the underworld, Cole   
  
Turner would eventually become the new Source. And she would control the entire   
  
underworld through him.  
  
The End  
  
If you've enjoyed this story, you can find more "Charmed" stories at my   
  
website, You can also post your own "Charmed"   
  
stories if you like to write fan fiction. 


End file.
